Chapter Thirty: The New Body of the Deity

Sun Licheng commanded Dogmeat to perform a few actions, and the mechanical dog executed them flawlessly. In the control cabin, Sun Licheng found a batch of equipment, including ropes, slung them over his body, opened the hatch, called out to “Dogmeat,” and stepped outside. He pushed aside the collapsed centipede monster’s corpse blocking the passage and climbed upward for a while before spotting a sign.

Now able to read goblin script, Sun Licheng followed the sign’s directions and turned left. Ascending further, he saw a mass of junk blocking the space ahead—dislodged cargo crates and their contents, damaged combat automatons, and the corpses of many goblin warriors.

The sheer volume of debris was dizzying, but Sun Licheng, well-prepared, was undaunted. Relying on his immense strength, he easily dragged aside the larger pieces and ordered the mechanical dog to clear the rest.

Dogmeat's forepaws concealed sharp blades, which could slice smaller items to pieces. After reducing the debris to fragments, Dogmeat spun around and used its hind legs to kick the small bits aside. To Sun Licheng’s surprise, once the mechanical dog had shredded the outer casings, he discovered quite a few valuable items among the fragments: nimble components, special metal plates that could serve as chips, and even several intact standard weapons of the Goblin Empire—a bountiful harvest. To avoid slowing their advance, Sun Licheng gathered these items into one cargo crate, planning to retrieve them when possible.

Thus, man and dog pressed forward at a slow but steady pace. After much effort, they finally reached the freight bay’s exterior. Sun Licheng examined the freight bay’s main door but then moved on, reasoning that, given the warship’s capsizing, the bay’s contents likely jammed the door shut.

Following the directions from Number 133, he arrived at a small iron door, beside which was a compact control panel with a combination lock.

Having mastered goblin script and equipped with Number 133’s data, Sun Licheng pressed a few buttons. He heard the whir of metal gears, and the little iron door opened—only to become stuck halfway.

Sun Licheng was well-versed in such problems. Using elemental guidance, he located the jam, then fished a long metal rod from the junk heap to use as a crowbar. First, he used his fire power to heat the metal wall near the malfunction, and when it was hot enough, wedged in the bar and pried hard. With a satisfying crack, the iron door opened fully.

Inside, the freight bay was pitch dark, but Sun Licheng’s innate fire power granted him night vision; everything appeared red in his eyes.

“A night vision device really is a blessing,” he remarked, stepping inside. As expected, the freight bay’s main door was hopelessly blocked by all manner of cargo. After a search, he found the backup magic crystal slot, replaced the depleted crystal, and activated the bay’s energy supply.

With the lights coming on, the entire scene unfolded before Sun Licheng. The warehouse spanned nearly five hundred square meters, but not much cargo remained. Sun Licheng guessed that, at the time, the Goblin Empire was likely on its last legs. Even so, as an armory, it still held many treasures: ten large crates of swords and armor alone, not to mention seven or eight toppled combat automatons.

Sun Licheng ignored these automatons. According to Number 133’s information, after dragging aside a large crate blocking the way, he uncovered three semi-circular golden cabinets—in them were the three latest-designed mechanical automatons. He pressed a few buttons on a cabinet, but nothing happened; glancing down, he saw the cable connecting it to the wall had snapped. Following the instructions, he found the emergency release mechanism and pulled the lever. With a hiss of escaping air, the cabinet opened.

Inside, a black mechanical automaton was secured in place. It was tall and robust, equipped with four arms and four legs, rubber pads on its feet, and atop its oversized head, a massive metal helmet, giving it a commanding presence.

“So this is the universal mechanical automaton? Looks formidable. I wonder if the Lord of the Stars will like it?” Sun Licheng mused, and pressed the backup unlock button inside the cabinet.

Once the automaton was released, Sun Licheng dragged it out and tested whether it would fit through the small iron door—delighted to find it just barely did.

“Thank goodness it’s not one of those gigantic freight bots, or getting it out would be a nightmare.”

With Dogmeat’s help and a thick cable, they hauled and dragged the automaton all the way back to the control cabin.

...

“So this is the automaton you found? It’s rather ugly,” the Lord of the Stars said, full of disdain.

“Use it or don’t,” Sun Licheng replied bluntly. He wasn’t about to joke; he’d gone through too much trouble to fetch it.

Chastened by Sun Licheng’s retort, the Lord of the Stars reluctantly infused the automaton’s head with divine power.

The automaton’s head twitched, its eyes flickered red, then stabilized. With a chorus of metallic clicks, it stood up.

“The capacity of this magic array is too small; it can only store a small portion of my divine power,” came a metallic voice from the automaton’s head. It examined its mechanical hands, then surveyed the room.

“If you can control the automaton, our experiment is a success. As for the metal plate not holding much divine power, that’s normal. In our world, a single chip’s processing power is quite limited,” Sun Licheng said with satisfaction.

“So what do we do?”

“It’s simple—find more chips. A chip is a special metal plate inscribed with a magic array,” Sun Licheng explained.

The Lord of the Stars nodded, and the two set to work. They rummaged through the control room, scavenging over twenty metal plates from broken automatons and shattered crystal balls. It wasn’t many, but enough to continue their experiment.

Following Number 133’s guidance, Sun Licheng carefully opened the automaton’s head and began the modifications. With his fire power and elemental control, he fashioned mounting brackets from low-melting-point metal and installed the twenty-odd metal plates inside.

After closing the head, the Lord of the Stars infused it with divine power once more.

“Doesn’t seem much different—the body is still so clumsy,” the automaton complained, waving its arms.

Sun Licheng thought for a moment and said, “I suspect it’s a problem of method. Let me introduce you to the concepts of parallel and cloud computing from Earth.”

The Lord of the Stars listened, the frown on his face slowly relaxing, and finally nodded in approval.

“That’s quite interesting. I’ll try again.” With that, he channelled another surge of divine power into the automaton.

This time, Sun Licheng and the others noticed a distinct change. The previously lumbering automaton now moved with agility and grace, a faint aura shimmering around it.

“Ha ha! This feels wonderful, Sun Licheng. Your idea was brilliant,” the Lord of the Stars exclaimed, testing his new body with delight.

“But this body’s capacity is still limited—clearly, I need more... chips.” After a bit more experimentation, he identified the shortcoming.

With a clear solution, things moved quickly. Sun Licheng and Dogmeat, along with the Lord of the Stars directing the automaton, scoured the entire warship. They searched automatons, vehicles, fighters, damaged and intact crystal balls, even emptied every cabinet. In the end, they gathered nearly five hundred metal plates of various kinds.

“Slower, slower—yes, put that CPU in. Good, that’s it.” With a proper tool kit finally found, Sun Licheng directed the Lord of the Stars, whose automaton now worked far more efficiently, to upgrade its own head. They officially named these special metal plates “goblin computer CPUs,” or simply CPUs.

Fortunately, the automaton’s head was enormous, but even so, with effort, they managed to fit just over 400 CPUs inside.

“All right, let’s reboot and see.” As the head closed, Sun Licheng gave the command.

Suddenly, lightning arced through the control cabin. The automaton stood upright, its eyes glowing blue.

“Excellent! I can now deploy basic divine powers,” the automaton cheered, waving its arms in excitement.

All at once, Sun Licheng, observing the automaton’s state, was seized by a chain and tightly bound, a blade pressed to his throat.

“Heh heh, little fellow, do you regret stealing my body now?” the automaton sneered menacingly, wielding the knife.

“This is biting the hand that feeds you,” Sun Licheng thought, cold sweat streaming down his face.

“Spare me, great one! Have mercy! I have an eighty-year-old mother and a three-year-old child. Please, be generous and spare me!” A wise man knows when to bow; Sun Licheng quickly pleaded for mercy.

“Since you’ve done so much for your god, I’ll let you off. But in future, do your work diligently, or else—heh heh...” The Lord of the Stars had only wanted to scare him and vent some frustration. Seeing Sun Licheng beg, he withdrew the blade.

Once released, Sun Licheng immediately showered him with flattery, prompting the Lord of the Stars to burst out laughing.

...

After a bit more exercise, the Lord of the Stars informed Sun Licheng that the body needed further strengthening.

He sent Sun Licheng back to the freight bay to find a certain purple metal. The Lord of the Stars explained that this metal, called Violet Gold, was extremely rare, perfect for carving advanced magic arrays and even crafting artifacts. In its heyday, the Goblin Empire had gathered quite a lot of it, and some should still be stored on this ship.

Sun Licheng and Dogmeat soon returned with a small tray of violet-gold wire.

Violet Gold’s melting point was low. Following the magic array pattern provided by the Lord of the Stars, Sun Licheng used fire power and elemental guidance to painstakingly inlay the wire onto the automaton’s body.

Once finished, the Lord of the Stars infused the magic array with divine power. Brilliant auras in seven colors rose from the array, making the already electrified automaton look even more dazzling.

After moving around a bit, the Lord of the Stars said, “This is a top-tier defensive magic array. Once inscribed on an object, it greatly boosts resistance to damage. Of course, the effect varies depending on the magical materials used, but the principle is the same. Consider this today’s payment for your efforts.”

Sun Licheng curled his lip, displeased. “Stingy! You call it payment to teach me a magic array? You’re a true god—at least give me a magic manual to match your status!” He didn’t even bother with honorifics.

The Lord of the Stars only smiled and said nothing, continuing to adapt to his new body.

...

Suddenly, the light screen flickered, and the Earth God, wreathed in flames, appeared. He said to Sun Licheng, “Find an automaton for me as well.”

It turned out the Earth God had long wanted to leave Sun Licheng’s body. Though Sun Licheng was strong, being inside a mortal was too confining—it felt like prison. Seeing the Lord of the Stars succeed, he couldn’t help but step forward.

The Earth God was Sun Licheng’s primary patron and key to returning home—he dared not refuse. But seeing the few chips left on the table, he could only smile wryly. “There are two automatons left, but we’re running out of CPUs.”

The Earth God saw Sun Licheng spoke the truth and, face falling, was about to reply when Number 133’s voice rang out.

“I know where there are more goblin computer CPUs. But I have a condition.”